England's selectors have confirmed that Nasser Hussain will remain as captain of the Test team.

England's selectors have confirmed that Nasser Hussain will remain as captain of the Test team.

Hussain stepped down as England's one-day skipper when they were knocked out of this summer's World Cup and said then that he hoped his decision would prolong his Test career.

This summer England are scheduled to play two npower Test matches against Zimbabwe and five against South Africa.

England's selectors, who met at Edgbaston on Wednesday, have yet to announce Hussain's successor as one-day captain, although Yorkshire's Michael Vaughan has emerged as the favourite to land the role.

Hussain, 35, was appointed England Test captain in June 1999 when he succeeded Alec Stewart.

His most recent series as Test skipper was the Ashes series in Australia when England were on the receiving end of a 4-1 thrashing.

Hussain came in for widespread criticism over his decision to put the world champions in to bat after he had won the toss in the opening Test in Brisbane, but England were beset by injuries before and during the series.

But Hussain's Test captaincy has generally been regarded as a success. In 2000 he steered England to their first series win over West Indies on home soil since 1969 and secured a 1-0 series win over Pakistan in Karachi - becoming the first foreign captain to triumph in the National Stadium.

The following year he guided England to a series win in Sri Lanka after losing the opening Test.